Two arrested for auto theft, assault of Plymouth man

WHITPAIN — A strong arm robbery that started in Plymouth Township, evolved into a stolen car crash in Whitemarsh and an arrest in Springfield Jan. 14, ended in the arrest of two Philadelphia men, according to a Whitpain police report, one of several police departments involved in the incident.

At 2:54 a.m. Jan. 14, Plymouth police reported a homeowner in the 3000 block of Runnymede Drive, just south of Whitpain’s border, was attacked by two men, who then stole his silver Lexus, police said. At 3:44 a.m., a Whitpain officer spotted the Lexus and attempted to pull it over at Skippack and Butler pikes, at which point the operator accelerated and the vehicle was lost from view in a dense fog around Joshua Road, police said.

The Lexus subsequently crashed into a stone wall at Bethlehem and Skippack pikes and the occupants fled on foot, police said. Whitemarsh, Upper Dublin and Springfield police joined in the search with Whitemarsh and Whitpain officers and a K-9 unit was brought in from Upper Moreland, while Lower Gwynedd police responded to assist with night vision, the report says.

At 5:33 a.m., Springfield police received a call from the Wawa, 1501 Bethlehem Pike, that two men dressed in dark clothes covered in mud were in the store, police said. When officers arrived, the men fled, but one, Andrew V. Stevenson, 23, of the unit block of East Montana Street, Philadelphia, was apprehended and turned over to Whitpain police, police said.

Warrants were issued by Whitpain and Plymouth police for Stevenson’s alleged accomplice, Marcus T. Bellamy, 21, of the 5700 block of North 17th Street, Philadelphia, and on Jan. 17, he was taken into custody by Norristown police, police said. Both Stevenson and Bellamy were charged by Whitpain with receiving stolen property, police said.

Plymouth charged both men with robbery, simple assault, theft from a motor vehicle, conspiracy and related charges, according to online court records. Bellamy is being held at Montgomery County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail, and Stevenson is being held on $75,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing for both is scheduled for Feb. 4.